The present invention relates to a method of treating patients suffering from schizophrenia and to alleviate or abolish the symptoms of the disease.
There are two major aspects to consider in the schizophrenic patient: (1) a disturbance of mood and affect and disorganization of the thinking process, and (2) the hallucinations and delusions which render the individual uncapable of dealing effectively with the motivations and decisions of every day living.
The biochemical basis of the schizophrenia has been suspected for a long time and the identification of the biochemically altered factors, be they genetically induced or triggered by environmental situations, enzymatic or electrolytic in nature, etc., have been the object of numerous investigations. Even if the etiological agent of all these disturbances is unknown, an abnormality in the mechanism of the neurotransmitters is evidently involved. It is well known that the catecholamines, specifically dopamine and noradrenaline are two fundamental neurotransmitters and it has been speculated that an alteration in the synthesis, release, catabolism or re-uptake of these compounds could be responsible for the symptoms of schizophrenia. Heretofore to accomplish this certain therapeutic agents have been utilized. These agents are the so-called neuroleptics (e.g., chlorpromazine, thioridazine, haloperidol, etc.).
The alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine is known to have an affect on the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase which regulates the synthesis of dopamine and noradrenaline, thereby being responsible for the amount of their byproducts, which otherwise create a feed-back mechanism which influences the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. However, it was well known that treatment with alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine resulted in crystalluria. Accordingly, while alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine created the desired effect, it could not be used on human beings.
Accordingly, the main object of the present invention is to provide a method of treating schizophrenia using alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine in therapeutic doses without the formation of alpha-methyl-para-tyrosine crystals in the patient's urine.
Other objectives will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following description and claims.